Save Article

Bailout Agreement Betrays EU Divisions

Germany's Terms Win Out, Underlining How the Bloc's Biggest Member Views the Workings of Euro-Zone Unity

By

Marcus Walker

Updated March 26, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

BERLIN—Germany's tough conditions for any aid for Greece, which other euro-zone countries were forced to swallow at a summit of European Union leaders Thursday, signal a broader division that threatens to hamper Europe's ambitions as a global power: Germany has cooled to unity, except on its terms.

In the past two years Germany effectively vetoed joint European action to rescue banks and stimulate growth, and rejected euro-zone calls for more teamwork on economic policy. Now German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gotten the euro...